Recoil-operated machine gun fire control mechanism



May 25, 1943- s. YANovsKY 2,319,839

RECOIL-OPERATED MACHINE GUN FIRE CONTROL MECHANISM May 25, 1943., s. YANovsKY.` 2,319,839

RECOIL-OPERATED MACHINE GUN FIRE CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Jan. 13, 1940, s sheets-sheet 2 May 25, 1943. s. YANovsKY REGOIL-OPERATED MVACHINE GUN FIRE CONTROL MECHANISM v s sheets-sheet 3 Filed Jan. 13, 1940 www Patented May 25, 1943 ltECOIL-OPERATED MACHINE GUN FIRE CONTROL MECHANISM Stephan Yanovsky, Brussels, Belgium; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application January 13, 1940, Serial No. 313,670 In Belgium January 21, 1939 (Cl. Sil-41) 9 Claims.

This invention relates to an automatic control device for firearms, such as machine guns, antiaircraft guns and the like.

The main object of the invention is the automatic control of sweeping re in width and depth and to enable shooting either 1. Following a straight horizontal line,

2. Following a straight vertical line,

3. Following an ellipse with its greater axis horizontal or substantially horizontal,

4. Following an ellipse with its greater axis vertical or substantially vertical, or

5. Following a circle..

Another object is to make it possible to put simultaneously into action from a central post a plurality of guns without necessity of the presence of the gunner.

The invention provides means operated by the recoil movement by which the barrel of the-gun can during ring be subjected to such displacements controllable both horizontally and vertically, that the aim of the gun describes paths, which can be controlled between a straight line and a circle, with intermediary ellipses of controllable shapes.

As a result, the shooting of a battery of'several guns can be controlled beforehand so that a series of guns, for example machine guns, sweep with a maximum efficiency a surface or zone of predetermined width and depth. Furthermore,

the guns the firing of which may thus exactly be predetermined can be put into action from a central post.

In practical use, the horizontal as well as the vertical movements of the guns are controlled each by a set of levers and a mechanism acting as an eccentric and comprising a crank pin adapted to occupy an eccentric controlled position.

The accompanying drawings show how the invention can be carried out in practice.

Figure 1 of said drawings is a front elevation view of the mechanism allowing an automatic pointing of the gun barrel.

Figure 2 is a plan view.

Fig. 3 is a detail in rear elevation of the upper bevel gear wheel in the mechanism for producing the vertical component of movement of the gun.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the same on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail in front elevation of the cylinder associated with the bevel gear wheel shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of the same on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detail in side elevation of the slotted member operatively connecting the eccentric operating mechanism to the gun.

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the same.

fFigure 9 is a View showing the release mechanisrn whensaid release takes place from a central controlling place.

Figure 10 is a view showing the whole gun mechanism resting on a tripod or another support.

In accompanying drawings (Fig. l), I is the casing of the machine gun or the like and 2 the cocking handle swinging about a pivot 3 on which is secured also a member 4 linked freely with a connecting rod 5 pivotally secured at one end of a lever 6 adapted to swivel about a pin I. Said lever 6 is provided with a slot 8 in which a pin 9 can occupy any controlled position.

Pin 'I and another pin I0 are carried by a member I I secured to the casing I of the gun.

On pin II) has been mounted a lever I2 carrying at its lower end a link I3 in which pin 9 engages.

The linking axis I4 of lever I2 and link I3 carries a ball link I5 swiveled also by means of a ball in a socket I6 (Figs. 1 and 2) making part of an arm I'I adapted to swing about a vertical shaft I8 (Fig. 2, its position being indicated by a center line Illa in Fig. 1) carrying a ratchet wheel I9 in the teeth of which engages a pawl 20, mounted resiliently in socket I6. Vertical .shaft I8 rotates at its upper end in a member 2I and at its lower end in a member 22. Members 2| and 22 form the arms of a fork 23 adapted to slide upon a stationary arcuated member 24 (Fig. 2). On the other hand, member 22 carries in front of member 23 a bolt 25 adapted to slide in a slot 26, forming also an arc of a circle and cut in a stationary member 2l.

Arcuated member 24 and stationary member 2l are supported by a framework comprising two standards 28 and 29 connected with one another by means of 'a cross bar 30 provided with a bracket 3I comprisingV a swively 32 adapted to be clamped by means of a screw.

Shaft I8 bears furthermore at its lower end7 underneath member 22, a rectangular plate 33 provided with a slide 34 in .which is adapted to slide a member 35 comprising a vthreaded spindle V36 engaging with one end a crank pin 31 adapted to move in a slot of cross bar 30. This threaded spindle is provided with a wing nut 38 for locking member 35 in slide 34.

On the other hand, ratchet wheel I9 is solid with a bevel wheel 39 meshing with a bevel wheel 40 rotating freely upon a horizontal shaft 4| (Fig. 4, its position being indicated by a center line 4Ia in Fig. l) carried also by member 2|.

Bevel wheel 40 is provided with two arcuated projections 42 and 43 (Fig. 4) acting as support for a cylinder 44 rigidly secured to pinion 40 by means of screws (not shown) passing through holes 45. On the side opposite to bevel wheel 49, cylinder 44 is closed, but it is provided on that side with an elongated slot 46 (Fig. 5) in which is adapted to slide a threaded rod 41 forming a part of a sliding member 48 moving between the straight faces 49 of projections 42 and 43. Said sliding member is carried by a screw 50 supported on its both ends by cylinder 44. One of said ends may be operated by means of a special wrench to rotate it.

The outer periphery of cylinder 4.4 Vhas mounted thereon a ball bearing ring 5I (Figures 1 and 6) rolling on a rail 52 Aforming an arc of circle (Fig. 1) `carried by stationary member 21.

The end of rod 41 engages in a socket 53 (Fig. 8) adapted to travel in a slot 54 of a member secured upon the casing of the gun by means of a fork 56. There has been also provided a wing nut 51 engaging the threaded part of rod 41 and intended to lock securely said rod in any predetermined eccentric position relative to cylinder 44.

To make sure that the gun should be carried positively along in the horizontal plane, a member 56 secured to the gun casing I by means of a pin 59 is provided, said member comprising at its lower end a fork 60 embracing fork 23.

The firearm rests as usually on a tripod or a frame 6I (Fig. 10) on which is secured a box 62 containing a rod 63 part of which is vleft hand threaded and part right hand threaded. Each of said parts carries a nut 6.4, 6 5 adapted to shift on said rod. Nut 65 is connected by means of a link 66 with pivot 3 2 of member 3l of the mechanism; nut 64 carries also a link 61 having its other end supported at 58 by link -66 and being adapted to slide in an arcuated slot 69v of said link 66.

The end 458 of link 61 yis provided with a locking screw.

Threaded rod 63 extends outwardly of box `52 and is provided with a hand wheel 10 for control.

Each of the handles 1I of the gun carries on its top a ring 1,2-Ycarlrying a. ypin 13.

A lever 1 5 provided with a cam 16 is mounted upon said pin 13 in front of the trigger 14 of the i firearm. To the other end of lever 15 is tied a string or cable 11. By pulling Athe cable 11 one causes lever 15 to rotate `about pin 13 so that lcam 16 lifts the safety lock 1B and strikes trigger 14, which brings the firearm into action. Cable 11 can be connected to a central mechanical or electrical controlling device so that the operation of said central controlling device can -put simultaneously into action Ya series 0f machine ,guns or other ordnance from a remote place.

On the other hand by each recoiling movement, member 4 and link 5 move inthe direction of arrow F, Fig. 1, on account of which lever 6 swings about axle 1 andcarries along in the direction of arrow Fi, link ,I3 supported by lever I2, which also swings in the direction of said arrow F1, link IL5 partaking of said movement and causing, through pawl v2li, ratchet wheel I9 to rotate. The extent of said rotation depends upon the position of pin 9 in slot 8 of lever 6. The positions are Lil) calculated so that, when pin 9 and link I3 are in position a, link I5 and pawl 20 move to an extent less than one tooth of ratchet wheel I9, so that the latter remains in place; on the other hand, when said pin is in positions b and c, ratchet wheel I9 and link are carried along to the extent of one or two teeth respectively.

When said ratchet wheel I9 is carried along, as it is rigidly connected to shaft I8, plate 33 is carried along in a rotation movement followed also by spindle 36 which moves in the slot of cross bar 30; as this slot is stationary, the result is that the whole mechanim becomes displaced following a swinging movement in the horizontal plane about the vertical axis A-B of Figure l0 and the firearm itself partakes of said movement.

The latter is guided by fork 23 sliding on member 24; on the other hand the guiding is also effected by the displacement of bolt 25 in slot 26 l `of member 21.

Furthermore, the firearm is adapted to swing automatically in the vertical plane about axis C (Fig. 10) to a controllable extent, as bevel wheel 39 drives bevel wheel 40, which rotates drum 44 and rod 41. When rod .41 is coaxial with shaft 4I, said rod 41 rotates idly without exerting any action upon member 55, but if by means of a special wrench the screw 5|) has been rotated and if member 48 and rod 41 rigidly secured on it are brougth in an eccentric position in respect to shaft 4I, rod 41 becomes a crank pin and drives member 55, through socket 53 and slot 54, introducing a vertical component .of movement.

Nut 51 serves to lock rod 41 in its eccentric position relative to drum 44,

On the other hand, during the horizontal displacement, the mechanism as a whole is supported partly by .rail 52 on which ring 5I rolls.

It will be appreciated that by the device dcscribed, it is possible on one hand to control the extent of horizontal movement by bringing spindle 36 into a position controllable in respect to shaft IB, the variable radius R determining thus the extent of the horizontal movement Iand, on .the other hand, the extent of the vertical movement, by acting by means of a special wrench upon the screw 50, which varies the position of rod 41 as explained above.

Each of these controls can be carried out between naught and a maximum, so that by applying them separately or in combination for the displacement of the barrel mouth of the gun, it is possible to obtain:

1) A straight horizontal path of controllable amplitude;

(2) A straight vertical path of controllable amplitude;

(3) A path in form of a flattened ellipse of controllable amplitude in the horizontal plane;

(4) A path in form of a flattened ellipse of .controllable amplitude in the vertical plane;

(5) Any ellipse determined by `the maximum radius of eccentricity R of spindle 3.6 relative to shaft I8 and by the maximum radius of eccentricityR of rod 41 in regard of shaft 4I.

The firearm can also be controlled roughly in the vertical plane by turning the hand wheel 10, which results in bringing closer together or further apart nuts 64 and 65 and, consequently in lifting or lowering pin connection 32.

Furthermore the speed of displacement of the firearm can be controlled by bringing pin 9 into the position b ,as shown on Figure 1 or into position c of same figure, because, as explained before, in one of these positions pawl 20 rotates ratchet wheel I9 one or two teeth. When pin 9 is in the position shown as a, no displacement of the arm either vertical or horizontal takes place, as ratchet wheel I9 is not caused to rotate. The firearm can however work in the usual way, i. e. without describing any trajectory resulting of the combination of horizontal or vertical movements.

What I claim is:

1. Control means for machine guns and the like, comprising a gun mounted on a support for angular movement relative to the support, a reciprocatable member actuated by the recoil of the gun, a crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to eect angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, and an operating coupling between the reciprocatable member and the crank to cause rotation of the crank.

2. Control means for machine guns and the like, comprising a gun mounted on a support for angular movement relative to the support, a reciprocatable member actuated by the recoil of the gun, a crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to effect angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, means to adjust the eccentricity of the crank, and an operating coupling between the reciprocatable member and the crank to cause rotation of the crank.

3. Control means for machine guns and the like, comprising a gun mounted on a support for angular movement relative to the support, a reciprocatable member actuated by the recoil of the gun, a crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to effect angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, an operating coupling between the reciprocatable member and the crank to cause rotation of the crank, and means to adjust the ratio of the coupling.

4. Control means for machine guns and the like, comprising a gun mounted on a support for angular movement relative to the support, a reciprocatable member actuated by the recoil of the gun, a crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to effect angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, means to adjust the eccen tricity of the crank, an operating coupling between the reciprocatable member and the crank to cause rotation of the crank, and means to adjust the ratio of the coupling 5. Control means for machine guns and the like, comprising a gun mounted on a support for vertical and horizontal angular movement relative to the support, a reciprocatable member actuated by the recoil of the gun, a crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to eiect horizontal angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, a second crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to effect vertical angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, and an operating coupling between the reciprocatable member and the cranks to cause rotation of the cranks.

6. Control means for machine guns and the like, comprising a gun mounted on a support for vertical and horizontal angular movement relative to the support, a reciprocatable member actuated b-y the recoil of the gun, a crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to effect horizontal angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, a second crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to eiect vertical angular oscillation of the gun lrelative to the support as the crank rotates, means to adjust the eccentricity of the cranks, and an operating coupling between the reciprocatable member and the cranks to cause rotation or the cranks.

'7. Control means for machine guns and the like, comprising a gun mounted on a support for vertical and horizontal angular movement relative to the support, a reciprocatable member actuated by the recoil of the gun, a crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to effect horizontal angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, a second crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to effect vertical angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, an operating coupling between the reciprocatable member and the cranks to cause rotation of the cranks, and means to adjust the ratio of the coupling.

8. Control means for machine guns and the like, comprising a gun mounted on a support for vertical and horizontal angular movement rela tive to the support, a reciprocatable member actuated by the recoil of the gun, a crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to effect horizontal angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as'the crank rotates, a second crank mounted for rotation and connecting the gun and support to effect vertical angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, means to adjust the eccentricity of the cranks, an operating coupling between the reciprocatable member and the cranks to cause rotation or" the cranks, and means to adjust the ratio of the coupling.

9. Control means for machine guns and the like, comprising a gun mounted on a support for angular movement relative to the support, a reciprocatable member actuated by the recoil of the gun, a lever having one end connected to the member and oscillated thereby about its rulcrurn, a ratchet wheel, a ratchet arm operatively associated therewith, a link connecting the ratchet arm to an adjustable point of said lever, a crank mounted for rotation by said ratchet wheel and connecting the gun and support to effect angular oscillation of the gun relative to the support as the crank rotates, and means to adjust the eccentricity of the crank.

STEPHAN YANOVSKY. 

